Federal agents attempt to keep protesters back outside a downtown U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Oct. 5, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Cupp continued loudly taunting agents, saying that if they came over and "got bin Laden," their "streets would burn down," and appeared to refer to President Donald Trump as a "Zionist overlord," before later appearing to tell fellow protesters that "Walid condones your illegal activities."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Tuesday that Cupp is now facing federal charges for his threats.
"Our ICE law enforcement officers face an 8,000% increase in death threats against them while they risk their lives every single day to remove the worst of the worst, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists and gang members," McLaughlin said.
"From bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxxing online, our officers are experiencing an unprecedented level of violence and threats against them and their families. Secretary Noem has been clear: if you threaten or lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Portland is not Cupp’s – or "al-Amriki’s" – first alleged run-in with radical thought.
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John Paul Cupp, aka Walid al-Amriki, is seen in this screenshot. (Instagram via DHS)
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Cupp has also been associated with White supremacist and pro-North Korean groups inside the U.S., with an NBC News report connecting dictator Kim Jong Un’s "personality cult" with admirers in the U.S. like the protester.
The outlet said in 2014 that Cupp had at one time been officially recognized by Pyongyang as "Chairman of the Songun Politics Study Group USA."
Local outlet OregonLive reported in October on more peaceful daytime scenes outside the ICE facility in Portland and encountered Cupp — identified in the article as al-Amriki — who told the reporter he had been protesting against the agency on and off since June.
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The FBI told Portland's FOX affiliate that Cupp posted in June to Russian social media site VK that he was "heading down to f--- with and troll these ICE losers after work." It also reported Cupp has been homeless since April and is estranged from a wife and three children.
In a TikTok posted to the account Daddy Walid Love Bug in November, a man appearing to be Cupp and identifying in the caption as "an update from Walid al-Amriki" said he has "love in his heart" and is "open to your criticisms."
"Sometimes my approach is a little too much 'bash them over the head' for our young people and for an American audience that is extremely emotional and wants to be loved and wants to know... are you on our side, and yes, I am," he said, adding that he has taken "a lot of youth" under his "wing" as his "children" in their ideological battle.
The Portland FOX affiliate reported Cupp was remanded to the Northwest Detention Center in Oregon. He could not be reached for comment.
Fox News' Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ice-protester-who-identified-bin-laden-faces-charges-over-alleged-sexually-explicit-threats-agents